Thick Juice-Based Production of Amino Acids and Putrescine by Corynebacterium glutamicum

Thick juice (also regarded as syrup) is an intermediate product of sugar processing. It is cheaper than processed sugar and is mainly composed of sucrose. Sucrose is a preferred carbon source of Corynebacterium glutamicum, a workhorse of biotechnology used for million-ton-scale amino acid production. Here, it is shown for C. glutamicum that sugar beet thick juice led to higher growth rates and faster carbon source consumption than pure sucrose. Comparative DNA microarray analysis revealed differential expression of genes for butyrate and citrate catabolism and of NAD and biotin biosynthesis suggesting provision of these compounds by the thick juice. Thick juice was also shown to be superior to sucrose in production of the amino acids L-lysine, L-glutamate and L-arginine as well as of the diamine putrescine since higher volumetric productivities than with pure sucrose could be achieved. Taken together, sugar beet thick juice was shown to be a carbon source for growth and amino acid and diamine production of C. glutamicum superior to pure sucrose.